While states have developed policies around a cut-off date for kindergarten entrance, some parents chose to have their child enter kindergarten before this date (Early Entrance) as an acceleration technique, or hold the child back from entering, a practice termed Redshirting, to allow for greater maturity and increased achievement in relation to…

In the United States, when a child turns five years of age, he or she is eligible to enroll and attend five-year old kindergarten. Parents and caregivers are often tasked with making the decision on whether or not to enroll their child when eligible to attend kindergarten or if the child should be held back another year (redshirted) and attend…

Children participating in kindergarten programming across the United States are expected to perform at a higher level than ever before. Many of these children are unprepared and developmentally unready for the academic tasks that await them. Researchers have shown that an older age at the start of kindergarten is a predictor of academic…

This research study was conducted to examine the effects of the Kindergarten Readiness program in a large suburban school district in Tennessee as measured by third grade Reading and Mathematics TCAP Achievement Test scores. In addition, the study examined the relationships between the chronological ages of the students at kindergarten entry and…

This study was conducted to see if a difference exists in the mean Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills: Oral Reading Fluency scores of students who entered kindergarten as 4 year olds, 5 year olds, and 6 year olds inclusively. Specifically, this dissertation considered the possibility that holding children out of kindergarten an…

This study examined the effect of kindergarten entry age on the scores of the eighth grade Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) math and reading scores, while controlling for the demographic variables of gender and socioeconomic status. The subjects included 1,197 students who participated in the randomized, long-term STAR (Student-Teacher…

State and district accountability systems are increasingly including retention in grade for young students who do not demonstrate adequate reading achievement levels. This article examines the research on the effectiveness of retention and other responses, including social promotion, and the growing parental practice of "academic redshirting" of…

Summarizes recent ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) documents and journal articles that discuss issues related to children's age at entry into school. Includes details about ERIC and ordering ERIC documents. (EV)

This study examined the relationship between age at school entry and reading readiness in kindergarten. Subjects included 30 kindergarten students selected randomly from a population of 56 students at a parochial school in a predominantly low socioeconomic status neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. All students were African American and ranged in…

This report describes a study that examined the question of whether or not a child's chronological age at school entry or gender affects his/her academic achievement. It posits 2 hypotheses: (1) that there is a low or negligible correlation between the chronological age at which a child enters kindergarten and a sample of the child's overall…

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RESEARCH STUDIES ON KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION REPORTED BETWEEN 1923 AND 1964 IS DIVIDED INTO FOUR ANNOTATED SECTIONS. THE FIRST LISTING DEALS WITH VALUES IN KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION--AS A FACTOR IN ADJUSTMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, AND PROGRESS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AS A FACTOR IN READING ACHIEVEMENT AND IN PREDICTION OF READING SUCCESS.…

Assessed the reading and mathematics abilities of kindergartners and first graders in the fall and spring of the school year. Found that younger first graders made as much progress over the year as older first graders and more than older kindergartners. Findings demonstrated that entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk.…

Describes a study that compared academic achievement indices of summer birth date seventh-ninth graders (n=45) who entered kindergarten at age five with indices of similar summer birth date children who entered at age six (n=45). All statistically significant differences favored older males and females, especially in reading for older males. (SM)

Parents in affluent communities have been following the suggestion of research and delaying kindergarten entry of their young age-eligible children in order to increase the likelihood of the child's academic success. This study examined the correlation between the chronological age of a child entering kindergarten and his or her performance on…